


Future Dreams

by MeganMoonlight



Category: Hellboy (Movies 2004-2008), Hellboy - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, Feelings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:07:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28530423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeganMoonlight/pseuds/MeganMoonlight
Summary: John’s goals, hobbies, and dreams had changed multiple times during his lifetime, but he had never thought that he would end up where he was now.
Relationships: Hellboy/John Myers
Kudos: 40
Collections: Small Fandoms Fest





	Future Dreams

When John Myers was five years old, his biggest dream had been to have twenty dogs. According to his parents, at least. One day John’s best friend had gotten a puppy, and after playing with her for an entire afternoon, John had decided that dogs were his favorite animals ever. A few months later John’s parents had ended up adopting one, making John scream with delight. Apparently, as soon as he saw Allie, a tiny black Labrador puppy, John had ended up spending hours playing with his new, furry friend. He had also quickly forgotten about wanting to have more dogs, since one puppy clearly had been more than enough for a five year old.

When John was nine years old, his biggest dream had been to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a car mechanic. Along with Allie, he would spend hours after school in his dad's garage, handing him tools, looking at all the spare parts he could find, and admiring every car that had been left in the garage. When some of the customers had noticed him looking at their cars, they had even allowed him to sit behind the wheel from time to time, which had been a blast for a child of that age. John had picked up a lot of useful things back then, things he had not been able to appreciate properly until he had gotten his first car eight years later.

At thirteen years old, John became mildly obsessed with traveling. It had started, more or less, when his parents had taken him to visit his aunt, who had recently moved abroad with her husband, and bought a house in Norway. John still remembered how scared, but also how excited he had been when he finally boarded the plane for the first time. When he had looked out the window and seen clouds right below them, he instantly knew that while he was not a great fan of heights, he definitely didn’t mind flying. Since then he had created an extensive list of cities and countries he dreamt of visiting at some point, including all the tourist attractions he would love to see. He still had the list hidden in his old notebook, safely tucked away in the drawer of his bedside table.

However, while John’s goals, hobbies, and dreams had changed multiple times during his lifetime, he had never, not even once, thought that he would ever end up working for a government organization that researched the paranormal and supernatural. 

John just handed in his report about the recent gargoyle attack Hellboy, Abe, and Liz had prevented, and he also finished organizing a delivery of another batch of books for Abe. Sometimes it was still strange to think that this was his life now: hanging out with a half-Demon, an _Ichthyo sapien_ , and a woman with pyrokinetic powers, and defending the world on a regular basis.

When John entered his quarters a few minutes later, he found the half-Demon in question lounging on John’s bed. At first glance he looked casual and relaxed, but John knew him long enough to tell that Hellboy was trying very hard to hide the fact that he was nervous.

“Hey, Red,” he said, taking off his jacket and throwing it on the nearby chair. “What’s up? I thought you were supposed to be on a mission with Clay.”

“Nah. Change of plans.”

Hellboy didn’t say anything else, making John frown slightly. “Okay. Does Clay know about this change of plans, though?”

Shrugging, Hellboy glanced at the clock standing on the bedside table. “He does now, I guess.”

“Unbelievable,” John muttered, before taking out his phone to call Clay and let him know that Hellboy, in fact, did not disappear without a word. This time, at least. Judging by the tone of the other agent’s voice, it was clear that Clay was relieved to hear that, and he asked John to tell the half-Demon that Clay would contact him after coming back from Mexico. John promised to do so, and when he ended the call, he turned to look at Hellboy again.

One corner of Red’s lips was pulled up in a small grin, and John was convinced that he clearly heard the entire conversation.

“So, is there a reason why you ditched Clay?”

The smile on Hellboy’s face faltered, but only for a brief moment. “He can handle himself.”

“Good reason, definitely. I bet Clay would love to hear all about how much you value his skills,” John smirked, before sitting on the bed next to Red. “And the real one?”

Growling quietly, Hellboy scratched the back of his head as he looked away from John. He was uncomfortable, and that was not an expression John saw on his face often.

“You left some of your stuff in my room yesterday,” Hellboy nodded at the bedside table, and only then did John notice that some things were not as he had left them a few hours earlier when he was leaving the room.

“Okay?”

“I brought them over, but the cats must have gotten to some of it at some point,” he pointed to the small pile he created next to the lamp. “I saved most of it, I think, but…”

John picked up a crumpled shirt, and a pair of rolled-up socks that clearly had been used as a toy for some time. They seemed to be fine, more or less, but then he also noticed his old notebook lying on the bottom of the pile. The corners of both covers were slightly torn and full of teeth marks that clearly belonged to a cat, and he winced slightly at the sight. He completely forgot that he had taken the notebook with him when he stayed with Hellboy the night before.

“I didn’t know it was yours, so I looked inside,” Red mumbled, and John felt his face flush at the admission. “I saw only the first page. Sorry.”

John was not ashamed of anything he had written down, not really. It wasn’t like he had any secrets hidden there, but it was still private, and just thinking that Hellboy could have read any of it, it still made him slightly uncomfortable.

“Right. Thanks for rescuing it,” John hid the notebook in the drawer right away. “I got it on a trip with my parents when I was thirteen. I honestly thought I had it with me when I left.”

“No problem. And I already told the cats that your stuff is off-limits from now on.”

“I’m sure they weren’t very happy about that.”

“You got that right.”

John put away everything Hellboy had brought with him, and soon they were both lying in bed, Hellboy’s fingers running up and down John’s arm, while John snuggled against the half-Demon’s side. He could feel how tense Red still was, though. Was he still worried about John finding out that he had peeked inside the notebook? Or was it guilt about the cats getting to the notebook first?

“I’m not mad at you, you know,” John muttered, looking up at Red’s face. “I shouldn’t have left my stuff laying around like that. It’s okay.”

“You sure? Your notebook’s not as pretty as it used to be.”

John snorted at that. “Yeah, Red, I’m sure. You can relax. Teeth marks give it character. I guess.”

“Well, good. Because you know, I can talk Clay into organizing a trip to Brazil so you can check it off your list.”

Hellboy’s comment made John squint at him. “How much of it did you actually read, HB?”

“Just the first few lines, promise. But seriously, I’ll tell Clay we need to go on a mission to Brazil, and there you go, a trip. Just say the word.”

John instantly recalled when, as a thirteen year old, he had written down Brazil at the top of his list.

Hiding his face against Hellboy’s chest, John felt himself smile. He was still a bit embarrassed about the whole situation, but knowing that Hellboy would take him on a trip just because he knew that John wanted to travel more, it felt nice. 

“I’ll think about it.”

So, true, John had never thought he would end up working for the B.P.R.D., or that at some point he would be dating a half-Demon, but he wouldn't change any of it for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Round 28 of [Smallfandomfest](http://smallfandomfest.dreamwidth.org/) for the prompt: Hellboy (movie), Hellboy/John - _"Childhood dreams."_
> 
> Here you go, another Hellboy/John ficlet. It might not be the best, but I really enjoyed writing it.


End file.
